]]>VANCOUVER — After being eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, the sixth-seeded Chicago Blackhawks fired assistant Mike Haviland amid an air of dysfunction on coach Joel Quenneville’s staff.

After suffering the same postseason fate, the seventh-seeded San Jose Sharks re-shaped their staff. Former New Jersey Devils assistant coach Larry Robinson is the new associate coach and former Washington Capitals assistant Jim Johnson takes over for assistant Matt Shaw to provide coach Todd McLellan a reprieve from further career uncertainty. As for Shaw, he replaces Devils assistant Adam Oates, the new bench boss of the Capitals, who succeeded Dale Hunter. Got all that? Good.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, amid speculation about the coaching future of Alain Vigneault and who should pay for a shocking first-round playoff exit by the Presidents’ Trophy winners, there were no firings. In fact, Vigneault and general manager Mike Gillis received contract extensions and the coaching staff that includes Rick Bowness, Newell Brown, Darryl Williams and Rollie Melanson remained intact. The prospect of a shortened NHL season and a one-week training camp if the lockout is resolved, will make familiarity a factor. But it has to go beyond camaraderie if the Canucks are going to go beyond a round or two in the playoffs.

“There have to be some challenges from within,” Vigneault said Thursday. “I don’t want to be surrounded by guys who just say what they would expect me to say. I want their opinion on strategy and personnel decisions and I get that from management, too. I would say 95 per cent of the time we’re on the same wave length, but that five per cent where we don’t totally agree, as the head coach I have to make that final decision.

“Most of the time we hash it out one way or another and reach a consensus of what the team needs.”

A narrowing window to win with a veteran-laden roster, learning from the mulligan of poor postseason preparation and the continued support of ownership should be catalysts for urgency. As much as Vigneault allows veteran players to set the accountability bar, you could argue that he gives his club too much rope because in the end, the results weren’t there. Is that Vigneault’s fault? The winningest coach in franchise history is also a Jack Adams Award winner who occasionally shows a comedic side to overshadow a serious nature. Vigneault has to reach his core group on some level and push the right buttons without pushing them over the edge and risk losing the room.

Vigneault was an assistant to Bowness with Ottawa in the 1994-95 season that was shortened to 48 games because of a lockout. The Senators held a 10-day training camp and won just nine games. These Canucks are not those Senators and that has much to do with Vigneault giving his veterans a voice knowing that a brief training camp will demand more time in the video room than on the ice.

“I don’t think we’re going to change a lot with them,” said Vigneault. “We’re used to a demanding schedule, but we’re going to have to get input from our players on how they feel energy wise and mentally. That’s where the strong leadership in the room comes in. They all have a team-first attitude and that’s what we’re going to need. These guys want to win and it just makes them more motivated because they know how challenging it is.”

A sobering five-game playoff series loss to the Los Angeles Kings proved the Canucks were ill-prepared. They tried to manufacture urgency with a high postseason secured and when leading scorer Daniel Sedin was sidelined for a dozen games following a March 21 concussion, it was like they lost their compass. They couldn’t find their way.

A Stanley Cup hangover produced a 5-5-1 October, but the bigger concern was what occurred after a vengeful 4-3 win in Boston on Jan. 7. The Canucks relied on great goaltending and 15 of their final 25 regular-season wins were by one goal. The Canucks led the league with a 24.4 per cent power play after the Bruins triumph and then went 16-for-117 (13.6 per cent) and were blanked 13 times in their final 18 games. The power play became predictable and stagnant and was a paltry 3-for-21 (14.3 per cent) in the postseason.

As for the regular season, the Canucks finished fourth on the power play and fifth in goals. They were fourth in goals against and sixth in penalty killing, so when motivated the execution was exceptional. Keeping it there and elevating it to another level in the postseason is Vigneault’s challenge. Maybe now more than ever.

“Not only do you have to get to know your players, it’s the same thing with the staff,” summed up Vigneault. “There has to be the trust factor there and start the right way right off the bat.”